


The Man With The Black Fedora

by AngstyBunBun



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25164808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstyBunBun/pseuds/AngstyBunBun
Summary: Hongjoong felt like he was dreaming. He wandered the desert looking for his friends
Kudos: 3





	The Man With The Black Fedora

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the story line challenge that ATEEZ was holding for the ZERO: FEVER Part 1...but I couldn't access the website so I couldn't enter. I figured I would post it here instead. I hope you enjoy (dyslexic still forgive errors). It's very short I might expand on it at some point
> 
> literally updating this and my other stories solely to say I now have a twitter now @/AngstyBunBun

_Hongjoong felt like he was dreaming. He wandered a desert looking for his friends, it was unusual for them to not be near him, even in his dreams they were such a huge part of his life that he usually met them there. Hongjoong knew he wasn’t alone, but he couldn’t find anyone. He turned around and then he saw a man in a Black Fedora standing and watching him. At least he felt like the man was watching him; he couldn’t really see his eyes. The man walked closer to Hongjoong and pulled something out of seemingly thin air._

_“It is not reality that makes you lose your dream; it is your decision” The man with the Black Fedora said standing in front of Hongjoong holding out an hourglass. His voice was warped sounding, almost like multiple people were speaking at once._

_“Who are you? What are you talking about?” Hongjoong looked at the hourglass confused as it seemed to be glowing_

_“There are countless dimensions in the world” The man stated, as if it was simple. He gave Hongjoong the hourglass and tilted his head_

Hongjoong woke with a start, the dream already gone from his memory mostly. He could vaguely remember the words spoken to him. He sat up on his couch ready to get back to work on his lyric writing. He stopped halfway into a sitting position noticing an hourglass on his table. Hongjoong didn’t remember it being there when he fell asleep, or really having it at all in the first place. As he sat looking at it trying to figure out how and why it would be there he saw the sand inside of it was beginning to flow from back from the bottom to the top. Hongjoong sat up properly and reached out to pick it up. Staring at the glowing sand inside, unable to take his eyes off of it. 

_There are countless dimensions in this world_

Hongjoong saw in the hourglass Seonghwa, but he was different than the Seonghwa Hongjoong knew. Different from the one that would be calling him any time now to yell about how he hadn’t made his bed when he left the dorm to go to the company building. Seonghwa here was in a tunnel it seemed leaning toward him, in a red sweater vest that Hongjoong had never seen before. Then Seonghwa was right in the camera holding a match, he blew it out and disappeared. A different Seonghwa appeared, this one still not the same one Hongjoong knew. This Seonghwa was outside leaning on a railing alone, holding a bracelet starring after someone. Then he too faded, replaced with the words: Everyone left, but only her scent remains. No name or address to be known. As if I was dreaming in my own dream it all faded away. 

Before Hongjoong could react an image came back up, this time of Yunho. Again not HIS Yunho, this Yunho started with just him driving down a road near a beach. Watching it Hongjoong was confused, he couldn’t understand why this was being shown to him. The image blurred then Yunho had parked and was sitting on the hood of his car on a cliff, staring off over the ocean. Suddenly he stood and walked toward the edge of the cliff quickly, Hongjoong heart caught in his throat, panicking that Yunho was going to walk off. Before Yunho reached the cliff he vanished, like Seonghwa he was replaced by another different Yunho. Yunho was running tears in his eyes, Hongjoong could see his phone but he couldn’t make out the text that seemed to have caused Yunho to be running. Yunho seemed to be crying and yelled something but Hongjoong couldn’t hear him. Once again the image faded being replaced with the words: It started with you, but it’s also my dream now. But without my brother, there’s no meaning to this dream. What am I supposed to do if you disappear?

Hongjoong tired to make himself put the hourglass down but he couldn’t. Next was Yeosang, Hongjoong was shaking as he watched Yeosang’s image, he hated this but he couldn’t look away. Yeosang was sitting on the edge of a Pirate ship looking out with binoculars, searching for something or someone. Hongjoong noticed with confusion that it seemed the ship was in the clouds. When Yeosang’s image blurred and changed to him on and equally as unusual looking island holding some sort of plant Hongjoong once again tired to make himself drop the hourglass, he didn’t want see more, but it was like it has stuck to his hands. Yeosang disappeared and reappeared as a different Yeosang. The new Yeosang was walking down an unfamiliar street with his head down, seeming like he had given up on everything. The image vanished and words appeared: Adults said. Look up at the stars in the night sky. But, the stars did not shine in the night sky I was looking at and I continued to walk looking at the ground. 

Hongjoong was starting to get used to the different versions of his friends when San appeared. San started with just him in an empty room with a red hue, his image shifted more suddenly than the others. The same room but now San was wearing a mask, something was **very** different about that San but before Hongjoong could figure it out he disappeared replaced by a new San. This San was in the backseat of a car staring out the window, his eyes seemed empty. Nothing like the boy Hongjoong knew. Even though Hongjoong couldn’t hear anything, he got the sense of people arguing. The car slowed to a stop and San quickly jumped out of it, he started running back to wherever they had been driving from and disappeared. The words appeared again: San is sick of his life. When the moving car that stopped for a moment, he jumped out of the car. 

Hongjoong knew Mingi was next, they were going in age order, skipping him. Still didn’t make it any less odd than the others seeing a different Mingi then the one he knew. This Mingi was in a dimly lit hallway sitting on the floor, like San’s had the image quickly switched to Mingi in a mask but this mask had a chain X on it. Mingi sat staring at a glass pane with an empty chair on the other side for a moment before fading away. Replaced by the new Mingi as all the others had been till now. This Mingi appeared to be in a practice room, but he was walking away, he looked drained and tired but not like he had been practicing. As the door closed behind Mingi the words appeared: Living without dreaming is a normal thing for a guy like me. Dreams are too lavish to the poor. 

Hongjoong barely had time to recover for the pain that caused him before Wooyoung was up. Wooyoung was in a huge grassy field by a tree. He seemed more relaxed than the others. He was smiling softly looking around the field, as if waiting for someone he knew was coming. His image changed the same field but at night time with aurora borealis in the sky, Wooyoung was still alone but it felt like others should be there, like they WERE there but Hongjoong couldn’t see them. Once again Wooyoung changed into a new Wooyoung. The new Wooyoung was in a school dance studio, instead of a practice room like Mingi had been. He was staring in the mirror, his eyes seemed off. He seemed...cold. He faded as the words came back: I gave up on the easy way out to be with my friends. But we’re wrong. I’m only going to focus on one thing now. 

Hongjoong breath caught but before he could recover it was Jongho appearing in the hourglass. Hongjoong was thankful this meant it would be over, at least he hoped. Jongho was in a tunnel but it appeared to just be cloth billowing around him, he looked seemingly at Hongjoong for a moment then turned away. He walked away blurred then was in a room next to what appeared to be a metal globe, he looked at it then turned back like he was going to look at Hongjoong but before he could he was replaced with the new Jongho. The new Jongho was at a basketball court, he was sitting on a bench his head down, he seemed so alone. Hongjoong tried to call out to him desperately but he couldn’t say a word as Jongho faded from his view. The words replacing him made Hongjoong’s heart stop: I was too young to know how to reach out to my lost friend. Where am I now, where should I go?

Hongjoong thought that would be the end but he still couldn’t put the hourglass down. Then slowly he saw a different version of himself. Unlike everyone else his other version wasn’t doing anything, he just stood there looking at Hongjoong. Hongjoong stares into his own eyes unable to look away, the other version tilts his head to the side and waves at him. Hongjoong is frozen still staring as the other version slightly changes now holding a giant flag with ATEEZ on it. Once again the other version waves then reaches out, smirks and says “Will you be my friend?”

Hongjoong was terrified but also very calm, his other version didn’t scare him. Then the man in the Black Fedora from his dream appears next to his other version. Seeing the man made the dream come back to him instantly. The man looked at the other version of Hongjoong, then bowed his head and in his many voices told the other version of himself he was honored to meet the Pirate King. Hongjoong watched the other version of himself chuckle and then turn his head like he’d been called, a smile appeared on his face and in the background Hongjoong could see his friends. The other Hongjoong looked back at him then waved and ran off to go to his friends. The man in the Black Fedora watched the other Hongjoong leave before turning to Hongjoong. He lifted his hat and moved his mask down, his face seemed to be shifting between all of his members constantly. The man in the Black Fedora gave him a smile then simply spoke,

_It’s not the reality that makes you lose your dream; it is your decision. There are countless dimensions in the world._


End file.
